DOC52PAPT1600017_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

Solicitation Number: DOC52PAPT1600017 Printing of Patents and Color Plant Prints

Questions and Answers

1) Can the exact specifications for each individual CLIN can be listed. Specifications would include things like page counts and ink colors, binding etc. While we understand you have specified the average number of pages (19), we are not sure if all should be quoted accordingly.

The USPTO has provided the description, number of sets, unit, and binding requirements.

Because the period of performance for this Request for Proposal (RFP) is a base year plus 4 options years, patents which will be printing during the period of performance have not been submitted to USPTO. Therefore, the USPTO cannot provide the exact page numbers and ink colors with the RFP. USPTO has provided an estimated annual quantity and estimated total.

Please reference RFP sections 2.1 and 2.2 for additional detail.

2) Is a set of 20 considered different versions of art or the same version just 20 sets complete are considered a unit? For example, is CLIN 2006a 20 sets of the same version produced at a quantity of 12,000 for a total of 240,000 sets which equates to 4,560,000 pages?

A set includes different versions of art. The average versions of art per set is 20. In the RFP CLIN x006a is based upon an annual volume of 12,000 different sets. The annual volume for 2015 was 10,740 sets. CLIN x006a is priced per set, not pages.

3) Please confirm whether or not the Service Contract Act applies to this procurement.

(Clauses)

The Service Contract Act does not apply to this procurement.

4) Should deliverable x007b be “Reprint Grant Request” to match the CLIN list in Section 2 instead of “Reorders of the photoprints from CLIN x007?” (3.3.4 Delivery Table)

Deliverable x007b has been amended to “Reprint Grant Request”.

5) Please confirm that attachments do not count toward the 20 page limit of the Management/Technical Approach. (10.5 Proposal Preparation Instructions)

The Management/Technical Approach shall not exceed 20 pages excluding the Quality Control Plan. The Quality Control Plan shall be an attachment to the Management/Technical Approach and shall not exceed 10 pages.

6) For vendors bidding on this project who may be out of state would the USPS be an approved pick up and delivery source for all of the USPTO locations; would UPS or FedEx also be consider a suitable courier?

In order to prevent the untimely release of patents produced on this program and to protect the Intellectual Property, the USPTO has included pickup and delivery requirements. See RFP Section

6.2 for complete pickup and delivery requirements.

Based on USPTO’s Market Research, it is USPTO’s understanding that USPS. UPS and FedEx cannot be meet the requirements of RFP Section 6.2 and the time. However, if an Offeror can document that USP, FedEx or another carrier can meet all the RFP requirements, USPTO will consider an Offeror proposal to use that carrier.

7) What exactly will be picked up? Based on the RFQ there are a total of 8 locations between Arlington and Alexandria VA; would there be daily pick up and deliveries for each location?

There is one pickup location, the address is United States Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Data Management Services, 2800 South Randolph Street, Room 9B40, Arlington, VA 22206, see RFP section 6.2(2)(iv).

There are 8 delivery locations between Arlington and Alexandria VA included in RFP Section 6.2(2)(vi). The CLIN listed besides the address in RFP Section 6.2(2)(vi) is the item(s) to be delivered to that location. For example, “CLINS x009. United States Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Data Management Services, 2800 South Randolph Street, Room 9B40, Arlington, VA 22206” means all of CLINS x009 shall be delivered to United States Patent and Trademark Office, Office of Data Management Services, 2800 South Randolph Street, Room 9B40, Arlington, VA 22206. “x” may be any number. For example, CLIN x009 includes CLIN 0009, 1009, 2009….

Additional, address which may be delivered to via USPS are included in Attachment B Distribution List of United States Patents, see Section 6.3 and Attachment B.

The Government reserves the right to change the pickup and delivery address of any item or material used under this contract upon written notice at no additional cost to the Government.

Change(s) to locations required by a Contractor owned delivery vehicle are be limited to the Washington, D.C., Arlington, Alexandria, Virginia metropolitan areas. (See RFP Section 6.1(b)

8) Is the turn around time 3 weeks based on the RFQ?

The Deliverable Table in Section 3.3.4 specifies the delivery day for each CLIN. Each patent issue is currently built three weeks in advance of the issue date. The turn around time for most requirements is 20 workdays, see RFP Section 3.8. Please note the exceptions in the Deliverables Table. Exceptions include reorders and reprints, which require a 48-hour turnaround.

9) The samples we received for review are from 2003 and 2006, respectively, and they are trimmed to different sizes: 8”x10” in 2003, 8.5”x11” in 2006. What was the trim size in 2011, and is the size of 8.5”x11” as specified in the RFP document the current specification?

Please submit the plant patent samples sized based upon the specifications in RFP 3.6.4 (g), which requires the “Dimensions be 8 ½ x 11”.

10) The RFP document mentions that the Plant Patent Drawings shall be reduced to 79% of the original. Does that still apply as those Plant Patent Drawings are being printed from a file, or does the reduction already occur when the file is being created by the PaDaCap Contractor?

The reduction occurs when the file is being created by the PaDaCap Contractor.

11) Do labels (with barcode) need to be applied to the front and the back of the Plant Patent Drawings?

The Labels (with barcode) is affixed on the back of the Plant Patent Drawings by the PaDaCap Contractor.

12) Are the required Pantone colors specified in the file?

The specifications for Pantone Colors are described in 5.4(b). The required Pantone colors are not always specified in the file. An original examiner approved plant drawing rather than a digital file may be provided, please see RFP Section 3.3. Please note RFP Section 3.3.3 (c) provides that based on historical data there are approximately two (2) examiner approved plant drawings per year that may be hand colored in form. A copy of the Pantone Color Chart Standards may be obtained from the following vendor: Pantone, Inc. (www.pantone.com). Original examiner approved plant drawings were provided in the Plant Patent Samples.

13) Given that the unit prices for black and white- and for color prints are different, it would be helpful to have an idea how many pages (approximately) to expect in black and white or in color in an average issue or set. How many of these might be color patent drawings, how many double-sided black and white text pages? How many “oversize” pages (up to 10”x15”) might there be in an average set?

All prints except for the plant patents are black and white. For the plant patents, there is 1 page of black and white and 5,552 color pages in an average issue. There is an average of 2-3 double-sided text pages per plant patent. The number of “oversize” patents per issue is 40 to 150, see RFQ Section 3.6.3 for additional detail.

14) Is the complete Ledger set to be printed on 44lb paper?

Yes, the complete Ledger Set is to be printed on 44lb paper.

15) Does 44lb paper refer to 44lb Bond or a different paper weight unit (165 gsm would indicate Bond, however, it is not specified)?

44lb paper refers to 44lb Bond paper.

16) According to the RFP document, the Classification Data File for Ledger Plant Patents will be transmitted separately as a Word file. Given advances in technology, is that still the case, i.e. do the labels need to be applied separately to the prints or is the Classification Data now embedded in the Plant Patent Drawing files?

http://www.pantone.com/

The Classification Data File for Ledger Plant Patents will be transmitted separately as a Word file. The labels need to be applied separately to the prints.

17) What kind of Postscript file is the PaDaCap Contractor providing to the Printing Contractor?

The Weekly Issue Print File in PostScript® format will contain an entire patent weekly issue and will be furnished by the Patent Data Capture (PaDaCap) Contractor. The Weekly Issue Print File is a Postscript® Level 2 compression. Each patent document will appear as a single file. These files will range in size from 1 - 2,000 megabytes. The PaDaCap Contractor assumes a maximum of 2 MB per patent for the patents in any given issue. The actual current average size of a patent is 1.5 MB. See RFP Section 3.4.1(e).

18) What is a “Grant Inventory Copy”?

There’s no “Grant Inventory Copy’, however, there’s a “Grant Inventor Copy” The Grant Inventor Copy is the Official Letters Patent copy that goes to the Inventor

19) Are international shipping costs for deliverables covered by this contract?

The USPTO shall pay for international shipping costs. See RFP Sections 6.2 and 6.3.

20) What is the time frame, at the very beginning of the Base Contract Period, from the receipt of the first files to the delivery of the first issue?

The time frame from the receipt of the first files to the delivery of the first issue is 20 days.

21) Would it be possible to see a sample of a complete Patent Issue or Ledger Set to get a better idea about the scope of the required printing?

USPTO is making additional samples of 6 utility patents, 6 design patents, 3 plant patents, and 3 reissues available. However, the file size is too large to post to FBO. Please contract Dru Olson at dru.olson@uspto.gov for a copy of the files.

mailto:dru.olson@uspto.gov